Malcolm X Heirs Sue to Block Publication of A Diary One Daughter Authorized, and, Threshold Withdraws Book by Debunked Benghazi Attack Eyewitness

Publishers Lunch

Several of Malcolm X's family members are reported to have filed a lawsuit last Friday to block publication by Chicago-based Third World Press of a diary the civil rights leader wrote in the last year of his life. The reproduction of a private diary kept as he travelled to the Middle East and Africa immediately before his assassination was scheduled for publication this week and lists daughter Ilyasah Shabazz as one of the book's co-editors.

The lawsuit, obtained by the NY Post and other publications and apparently filed in "Manhattan federal court" (but not yet listed on any federal docket) asserts Third World Press has no right to publish the diary. Rather, Legacy X, a entity created by Malcolm X's surviving heirs, "has exclusive rights to publish, reproduce and distribute the diaries worldwide" and they assert that "Third World Press is snubbing the exclusive copyrights."

They add: "Legacy X has made repeated efforts to communicate to TWP that its publications of these works is improper...These efforts have fallen on deaf ears; TWP continues to act if it is entitled to exploit intellectual property which it does not own. Without this court's immediate assistance, the value of these timeless writings will be lost forever."

Third World Press executive Bennett Johnson says the company has a signed contract with Ilyasah Shabazz. But the complaint says that she signed over her rights (along with four of her siblings) to Malcolm X's intellectual property in 2011, arguing that makes her agreement with Third World Press "unlawful." Legacy X further stated they planned publication of Malcolm X's diaries in 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of his assassination.

Threshold Withdraws Book by Debunked Benghazi Attack Eyewitness

Threshold Editions said on Friday that it has "withdrawn from publication and sale all formats of" THE EMBASSY HOUSE, written by "Sergeant Morgan Jones" -- now revealed to be independent security contractor working for the State Department Dylan Davies, and Damien Lewis. The publisher said in a statement they were taking action "in light of information that has been brought to our attention since the initial publication of THE EMBASSY HOUSE." They are "notifying accounts that they may return the book to us" and recommending they withdraw it as well.

On Friday morning 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan issued an apology for her October 27 segment on the 2001 attack on the Benghazi embassy, saying Davies had misled her, and that apology was reiterated on the news magazine's own broadcast on Sunday. Davies told the show -- and apparently wrote in his book -- that he reached the compound when it was under attack and took actions that included fighting off a militant.

But an incident report from his employer Blue Mountain security said he never made it to the compound, and that is also the story multiple sources say Davies gave to the FBI. He had claimed to CNN last week, "The account in my book is consistent with what I gave to the FBI and US authorities about what happened in Benghazi." But two "senior government officials" told the NYT that the FBI files are in fact consistent with the incident report: "Mr. Davies told the F.B.I. that he was not on the scene until the morning after the attack." In the deal report for the book, "Jones" was described as "the head of security for the US Embassy in Benghazi and the man who found and identified the body of Ambassador Christopher Stevens." Slate, which had run an excerpt of THE EMBASSY HOUSE on October 29, also issued a note stating they "can likewise no longer stand behind the veracity of Davies' account."